Chapter 9: Chapter 9 Learning how to fly.
It was easier said than done to find the crystals.
Most of the shuttles they searched in the next few days were designed differently and none of them had anything similar to the device they were looking for.
Finally they had to give up and move on to the next ship.
The only upside was that the device was classified as a special resource when Simon sold it and he got 60000 credits for it.
According to Mikael special resources were rare and that's why they couldn't find a replacement for the broken crystal.
Their next target was another shuttle that they found while looking for the crystals.
This time it was quite easy to connect the cable and the cockpit came to life within seconds.
Again they took notes from every monitor to translate them later.
During the next few days they proceed with the translation in the afternoons while collecting materials in the mornings.
-Mikael came here for a moment.
Simon called the old man over with an excited voice.
-What is it kid?
Mikael asked, coming over.
They were translating the read out from the shuttle.
-Am i seeing things or does it really say that it uses water as a fuel?
-Let me take a look.
The old man translated the text and was shocked.
-You are right this thing really uses water as its fuel so what do you want to fill it up?
He joked.
-Actually I think we might be able to get this thing going.
He showed the old man a translation about the state of the ship and it turned out that it was just out of fuel and the haul integrity was compromised.
-Ok so what? it's not like any of us can fly that thing.
-But we can learn and if we can master it then we can use this shuttle to move around faster and further than now.
-That would be a great kid and with its cargo hold we could get way more materials.
But if we crash then its game over for us.
-That's why we will first translate everything and then slowly learn how to use it.
-Ok kid, let's see if we got what it takes to be a pilot.
After that they continued the translations and found a way to refill the tanks at least partially.
Later on they tried to start the engines and after a few tries they were successful.
They also got more data to translate and it took over a week to finish it all.
Day by day they uncovered the secrets of the shuttle.
Finally they were ready to try and lift off for the first time.
Simon was the pilot and the experiment was designed to try to lift the shuttle up to the height of three meters and then gently land.
Mikael was observing from a distance.
Simon started the engines up and added more power slowly,he felt the vibrations going throughout the ship.
When he reached 20% power the altimeter displayed that the ship was gaining altitude.
The young man also saw through the window that the ship went slowly upward.
Simon used the altitude control device to ascend but by accident he went up to twenty meters instead of only three.
When he realized his mistake he tried to correct it and it partially worked he descended to eight meters then he tried to land softly but he overdid it and hit the ground with a thud and made a dust cloud around the ship.
When he stood up from the floor he immediately powered down the ship.
A few moments later Mikael rushed inside.
-Kid are you alright?
Were his first words after he entered the cockpit.
-I'm fine, just some scratches and bruises.
-I'd say it's not a very high price for your first flight.
The old man said with some humor.
-This thing is over sensitive or i made a mistake somewhere.
-I'd say that it was a good try especially since you are not a pilot.
-Well old man when I figure out how to fly this thing your next.
Mikael smiled.
-We shall see but for now i'd say that you had enough fun.
-You're right I'll try again tomorrow besides we need more water for this thing.
The next three days Simon learned to control the altitude and even figured out how to land without hitting the ground with a thud.
Next thing was to try and move the shuttle and it took another few days to get used to it especially after he accelerated for the first time and the G forces pushed him into his seat.
All together the basic movements of the shuttle took two weeks to master for Simon.
After that it was Mikaels turn but since he could rely on Simon's experiences it took him only a week.
They made sure not to go too high because this ship wasn't airtight. The highest they went was 200 meters and this allowed them to see everything within many kilometers.
They were excited that they could learn how to fly and even more because they could use this ship to transport much more materials than before and faster.
Also they could now move bigger parts without cutting them into smaller pieces which saved them a lot of time and credits.
The only downside was the water consumption but all together they made way more credits than they spent.
One day they tried to transport a small fighter but it didn't work. It was too heavy for the shuttle especially when its cargo hold was packed with materials.
-Well kid, this is something I never thought would work but here we are.
Mikael said when they were resting in front of his house.
-I also never thought that I'll be able to fly one of those ships.
But we got a little distracted from trying to connect the power to our ships.
Simon said.
-Don't worry kid, we have the time and we just made our lives much easier thanks to you.
-I can't argue with that and it's fun to fly.
Simon agreed.
-So which ship will we try next?
Mikael asked.
-Lets try something bigger, who knows maybe we can make it fly again like with this one.
The young man pointed at their shuttle.
-Let's not overdo it,besides what are the chances that we will find another ship that works and runs on water?
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